Expandable stake assembly

ABSTRACT

An expandable stake assembly for securing a temporary structure to ground includes a stake that may be inserted into ground. An attachment is rotatably coupled to the stake and a securing line may be attached thereto for securing a structure to the ground. A sleeve is provided and the stake extends therethrough. The sleeve is expandable to extend outwardly from the stake when the stake is inserted into ground. Thus, the sleeve inhibits the stake from being removed from the ground.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Statement Regarding Federally Sponsored Research or Development

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The disclosure and prior art relates to stake devices and more particularly pertains to a new stake device for securing a temporary structure to ground.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a stake that may be inserted into ground. An attachment is rotatably coupled to the stake and a securing line may be attached thereto for securing a structure to the ground. A sleeve is provided and the stake extends therethrough. The sleeve is expandable to extend outwardly from the stake when the stake is inserted into ground. Thus, the sleeve inhibits the stake from being removed from the ground.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of an expandable stake assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a top view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a right side view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure showing a sleeve being compressed.

FIG. 7 is a perspective in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 7 thereof, a new stake device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 7, the expandable stake assembly 10 generally comprises a stake 12 that is selectively inserted into ground 14. The stake 12 has a first end 16, a second end 18 and an outer surface 20 extending therebetween. the first end 16 tapers to a point to pierce the ground 14 and the outer surface 20 is threaded between the first end 16 and the second end 18. A nut 22 is attached to the second end 18 of the stake 12 wherein the nut 22 for engaging with a tool for rotating the stake 12. The nut 22 has an outwardly facing surface 24 and the outwardly facing surface 24 has a plurality of intersecting sides 26 to be engaged by the tool. Additionally, the nut 22 may be struck repeatedly to drive the stake 12 into the ground 14.

An attachment 28 is rotatably coupled to the stake 12 and a securing line 30 may be attached thereto for securing a structure to the ground 14. The structure may be an inflatable jump castle, a tent and any other temporary structure that is vulnerable to being displaced by wind. The attachment 28 comprises a tube 32 that has an inside surface 34. The stake 12 extends through the tube 32 and the inside surface 34 of the tube 32 threadably engages the outer surface 20 of the stake 12. The tube 32 is rotatable in a first direction such that the tube 32 is urged to travel upwardly along the stake 12. Additionally, the tube 32 is rotatable in a second direction such that the tube 32 is urged to travel downwardly along the stake 12.

A rod 36 is included that has a first portion 38 forming an angle with respect to a second portion 40. The first portion 38 is coupled to and extends outwardly from the tube 32 having the second portion 40 being vertically oriented. Moreover, the second portion 40 may be gripped for rotating the tube 32. A hook 42 is coupled to the second portion 40 and the securing line 30 may be attached to the hook 42 to secure the structure to the stake 12. The hook 42 curves downwardly from the second portion 40 to inhibit the securing line 30 from disconnecting from the hook 42.

A sleeve 44 is provided and the stake 12 extends through the sleeve 44. The sleeve 44 is expandable to extend outwardly from the stake 12 when the stake 12 is inserted into ground 14. Thus, the sleeve 44 engages the ground 14 to inhibit the stake 12 from being removed from the ground 14. In this way the sleeve 44 inhibits the structure from urging the stake 12 out of the ground 14 when the structure is exposed to wind or the like.

The sleeve 44 has a primary end 46, a secondary end 48 and an outer wall 50 extending therebetween. The outer wall 50 has a plurality of cuts 52 extending therethrough and the cuts 52 are spaced apart from each other and are distributed around the sleeve 44 to define a plurality of strips 54 on the sleeve 44. The cuts 52 are vertically oriented to extend between the primary end 46 and the secondary end 48. The tube 32 engages the primary end 46 of the sleeve 44 and the secondary end 48 of the sleeve 44 engages the stake 12 such that the secondary end 48 is inhibited from moving on the stake 12.

The tube 32 compresses the sleeve 44 when the tube 32 is rotated in the second direction. Thus, the strips 54 are bent and urged to extend outwardly from the sleeve 44 for engaging the ground 14 to inhibit the stake 12 from being removed from the ground 14. Each of the strips 54 is straightened to lie flat against the tube 32 when the tube 32 is rotated in the first direction. Thus, the stake 12 can be removed from the ground 14. The sleeve 44 may be comprised of a resiliently bendable material such that the strips 54 straighten out when the tube 32 is rotated in the first direction.

In use, the stake 12 is driven into the ground 14 and the tube 32 is rotated in the second direction to compress the sleeve 44. Thus, the strips 54 extend outwardly from the tube 32 to frictionally engage the ground 14. The securing line 30 is attached to the hook 42 thereby securing the temporary structure to the ground 14. Moreover, the strips 54 inhibit the structure from urging the stake 12 out of the ground 14 when the structure is exposed to wind or the like. In this way the stake 12 and the sleeve 44 enhance safety for people inhabiting the temporary structure. The tube 32 is rotated in the first direction to straighten the strips 54 thereby facilitating the stake 12 to be removed from the ground 14.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements. 

1. An expandable stake assembly being configured to be inserted into ground and selectively expanded to inhibit said assembly from being removed from the ground, said assembly comprising: a stake being configured to be inserted into ground, said stake having a first end, a second end and an outer surface extending therebetween, said first end tapering to a point wherein said first end is configured to pierce the ground, said outer surface being threaded between said first end and said second end; an attachment being rotatably coupled to said stake wherein said attachment is configured to have a securing line attached thereto for securing a structure to the ground, said attachment comprising a tube having an inside surface, said stake extending through said tube having said inside surface threadably engaging said outer surface of said stake, said tube being rotatable in a first direction such that said tube is urged to travel upwardly along said stake, said tube being rotatable in a second direction such that said tube is urged to travel downwardly along said stake, a rod having a first portion forming an angle with respect to a second portion, said first portion being coupled to and extending outwardly from said tube having said second portion being vertically oriented wherein said second portion is configured to be gripped for rotating said tube, and a hook being coupled to said second portion wherein said hook is configured to have the securing line attached thereto, said hook curving downwardly from said second portion wherein said hook is configured to inhibit disconnection of the securing line from said hook; and a sleeve having said stake extending therethrough, said sleeve being expandable to extend outwardly from said stake when said stake is inserted into ground wherein said sleeve is configured to inhibit said stake from being removed from the ground, said sleeve having a primary end, a secondary end and an outer wall extending therebetween, said outer wall having a plurality of cuts extending therethrough, said cuts being spaced apart from each other and being distributed around said sleeve to define a plurality of strips on said sleeve, said cuts being vertically oriented to extend between said primary end and said secondary end.
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 9. An expandable stake assembly being configured to be inserted into ground and selectively expanded to inhibit said assembly from being removed from the ground, said assembly comprising: a stake being configured to be inserted into ground, said stake having a first end, a second end and an outer surface extending therebetween, said first end tapering to a point wherein said first end is configured to pierce the ground, said outer surface being threaded between said first end and said second end; a nut being attached to said second end of said stake wherein said nut is configured to be engaged by a tool for rotating said stake, said nut having an outwardly facing surface, said outwardly facing surface having a plurality of intersecting sides wherein each of said intersecting sides is configured to be engaged by the tool; an attachment being rotatably coupled to said stake wherein said attachment is configured to have a securing line attached thereto for securing a structure to the ground, said attachment comprising: a tube having an inside surface, said stake extending through said tube having said inside surface threadably engaging said outer surface of said stake, said tube being rotatable in a first direction such that said tube is urged to travel upwardly along said stake, said tube being rotatable in a second direction such that said tube is urged to travel downwardly along said stake; a rod having a first portion forming an angle with respect to a second portion, said first portion being coupled to and extending outwardly from said tube having said second portion being vertically oriented wherein said second portion is configured to be gripped for rotating said tube; and a hook being coupled to said second portion wherein said hook is configured to have the securing line attached thereto, said hook curving downwardly from said second portion wherein said hook is configured to inhibit disconnection of the securing line from said hook; and a sleeve having said stake extending therethrough, said sleeve being expandable to extend outwardly from said stake when said stake is inserted into ground wherein said sleeve is configured to inhibit said stake from being removed from the ground, said sleeve having a primary end, a secondary end and an outer wall extending therebetween, said outer wall having a plurality of cuts extending therethrough, said cuts being spaced apart from each other and being distributed around said sleeve to define a plurality of strips on said sleeve, said cuts being vertically oriented to extend between said primary end and said secondary end, said tube engaging said primary end of said sleeve, said secondary end of said sleeve engaging said stake such that said secondary end is inhibited from moving on said stake. 